Workers could skip lunch break under TN bill

Foes of measure say employers could force workers to skip breaks, putting them at risk of injury

11:07 AM,
Jan. 22, 2014

Written by

Nate Rau
| Gannett Tennessee

Republican lawmakers have filed legislation that would give workers the option of waiving their 30-minute lunch break currently required under state law.

But critics say the bill would take away an important workplace safety requirement and create a work environment in which employers could strong-arm workers into skipping meal breaks.

State Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, said his intent is merely to give workers the option of bypassing the 30-minute unpaid break that almost everyone working at least a six-hour shift must take. In 2012, the legislature passed a law exempting ...